Posted!

Join the Nation's Conversation

Next pope faces a daunting job: Column

John Gehring
6:13 p.m. EST February 17, 2013

He'll need grace, intelligence and humility to change this flawed, but beautiful church.

White smoke vents up from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel showing that Catholic Church cardinals had elected a new leader, Pope Benedict XVI, after a conclave lasting little more than 24 hours in April 2005.(Photo: Andreas Solaro, AFP/Getty Images)

Story Highlights

I love my church with its rich intellectual and social justice tradition.

But like many Catholics, I'm worried about a church that seems out of touch with the real word.

A new pope could let it be known that discernment and discussion are signs of a healthy faith.

Pope Benedict XVI's stunning resignation has provoked wide-ranging debate among the world's billion Catholics about the future of a global church at the crossroads of crisis and opportunity. When cardinals choose the next heir to St. Peter, the decision will be dissected by everyone from cable news pundits in Washington to rosary-praying grandmothers in Ghana. I'm not one of the 118 cardinals of the Roman Catholic Church who will gather in the Sistine Chapel so I don't get a vote. But a Vatican culture still defined by the customs of a Renaissance court might benefit from some common wisdom from those of us filling the pews on Sundays.

I love the church that I was baptized into and still call my spiritual home. Educated by Catholic nuns and Jesuit priests, I'm proud to be forged by a rich intellectual and social justice tradition that echoes across the centuries. I stand humbly on the shoulders of saints and sinners who make up the communion of faithful down through the ages. The lives of Dorothy Day, the martyred Archbishop Oscar Romero and Blessed Mother Teresa all remind me of why I'm Catholic. Unlike so many who have left the church -- the 22 million former Catholics in the U.S. would make up the third largest "denomination" in our country -- I choose to stay. But along with many Catholics, I'm worried about a church torn by ideological divisions, morally diminished by the clergy sexual abuse crisis and led by bishops who often seem out of touch with the real word beyond gilded cathedrals.

Pope Benedict has been justly praised for the humility and courage needed to step aside in the face of declining health. This unexpected jolt to a traditional institution should also usher in a period of greater introspection and influence the cardinals' thinking about a new kind of church leadership needed for a modern world. The Catholic Church is not a democracy. The next pope, whether cheered by conservative Catholics or eyed warily by liberals in the flock, will not abruptly end the church's opposition to same-sex marriage, the all-male priesthood and contraception even as many practicing Catholics and some clergy find these teachings flawed.

But a new pope -- and no church rule requires the Vicar of Christ to be a cardinal or bishop -- could send a powerful message by claiming less infallibility and listening more to ordinary Catholics, overburdened pastors and tireless nuns who live out the Gospel from blighted neighborhoods in Cinncinnati to remote villages in Kenya. Instead of silencing theologians and stifling debate, a new pope could let it be known that discernment and discussion are signs of a healthy, flourishing faith. While women's ordination has been roundly rejected by papal teaching, a new pope could do more to bring women into positions of power and decision making. At a time when women run major corporations and branches of government, surely a pope could take more decisive steps to demonstrate that women are not second-class citizens in their own church.

Even toning down the regal dress -- less red velvet capes and Prada footwear -- would send a message that those who follow in the footsteps of a poor Jewish carpenter from Nazareth are called to live simply. St. Francis of Assisi wasn't a priest or bishop, and rarely knew where his next meal or shelter would be found, but he sparked a deep spiritual movement that thrives today around the world. It would be hard for any pope to completely escape the historical and cultural trappings of an ostentatious papal style. But you can bet those faithful who are struggling to pay a mortgage or scratch out enough for tuition at Catholic schools would appreciate even a symbolic nod to sobriety.

It's easy to give advice and hard to act. The next pope will have a daunting job. He will need the gifts of grace, intelligence and humility. A sense humor wouldn't hurt. The good news is no one person can lead alone. The Second Vatican Council, called by the reforming Pope John XXIII 50 years ago, envisioned the church as "the people of God." In the end, all Catholics who love this flawed and beautiful church must be ready to step into the breach.

John Gehring is Catholic program director at Faith in Public Life in Washington.

In addition to its own editorials, USA TODAY publishes diverse opinions from outside writers, including our Board of Contributors.